Electronic devices (cellular telephones, wireless modems, computers, digital music players, Global Positioning System units, Personal Digital Assistants, gaming devices, etc.) have become a part of everyday life. Small computing devices are now placed in everything from automobiles to housing locks. The complexity of electronic devices has increased dramatically in the last few years. For example, many electronic devices have one or more processors that help control the device, as well as a number of digital circuits to support the processor and other parts of the device.
This increased complexity has led to an increased need for testing that can test digital circuits and/or digital systems. As technology advances, it may be more and more important that particular circuits and/or digital systems are reliable. Therefore, the testing used to verify or test various parts of devices, such as pieces of hardware, and/or software are also increasing in importance.
In many cases the equipment used to test a device is a separate piece of equipment than the device being tested. In some testing configurations, test equipment may monitor one or more functions of the device while the device performs the function(s). Therefore, the device and the test equipment may be monopolized for the duration of the testing. Furthermore, the test equipment may be expensive to use. In contrast, a self test may be performed in some configurations with little or no involvement required from test equipment. Benefits may be realized, therefore, by providing improved methods and apparatus for providing built in self tests for electronic devices and/or components used in electronic devices.